Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides.
Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on
the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will need to join the MOA before you can post: click this register link to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Crash Bars: Alt-Rider or SW-Motec?

I have a 2012 F650 GS. I am a new rider and looking to do combo riding. I took the 3 day combo course at the BMW Performance Center. They had the SW-Motec crash bars on the bike and they said they were very good. They did not interfere with my legs at all. I dropped the bike twice during the training and it was fine.

I see Alt-Rider has just come out with new bars for the F650 GS. Any opinions on which ones are the best? I want bars that protect the engine and the upper plastic (fake tank). The OEM ones look like they only protect the engine but not the body work.

I have a 2012 F650 GS. I am a new rider and looking to do combo riding. I took the 3 day combo course at the BMW Performance Center. They had the SW-Motec crash bars on the bike and they said they were very good. They did not interfere with my legs at all. I dropped the bike twice during the training and it was fine.

I see Alt-Rider has just come out with new bars for the F650 GS. Any opinions on which ones are the best? I want bars that protect the engine and the upper plastic (fake tank). The OEM ones look like they only protect the engine but not the body work.

And do they go on easy for a do-it-yourself-er??

Thanks!

Jay

Welcome to the forum Jay. At a recent Twisted Throttle open house, I purchased the SW Motech engine guards for my 09F800GS. I did a little write-up which can be found here- SW Motech crash-bar review
It's good to see someone else in the F-Twins dept. As you are new to the forum, you might not know that at the bottom left of the page there is a box to expand how far you can "look-back" so more pages will be displayed. Good luck. Any questions....I'm around. Gary

"I bought a ticket to the circus, I don't know why I was so surprised to see elephants" Norris Church MailerMod Squad
2009 F800GS 1994 TW200

there is an EXTENSVE thread on advrider.com about crashbars and skid plates for the F twins, which include many options beyond just the 2 you mentioned. i ended up getting these- http://www.adventure-spec.com/defaul...gs-f800gs.html
For my money, going on my bike, they were my best option. you'll have to weigh the +/-'s of each system, and make your own evaluation of which is "best" for you.

I have and like the AltRider bars

Originally Posted by Bluejayrover

I see Alt-Rider has just come out with new bars for the F650 GS. Any opinions on which ones are the best? I want bars that protect the engine and the upper plastic (fake tank). The OEM ones look like they only protect the engine but not the body work.

And do they go on easy for a do-it-yourself-er??

Thanks!

Jay

I like the Alt Rider bars. I am a total klutz mechanically but was able to easily install them myself.

AltRider crash bars

I have a set of AltRider crash bars on my F650GS. They have worked very well protecting the bike (and my legs/feet) in a couple of rocky-road drops. No damage to bike. I would recommend them inreservedly.

ordered Alt Rider

I decided to order the Alt-Riders. Thanks for all the advice! They came today but they sent me the F800 bars by mistake. Now I gotta send them back. What a PIA. Was hoping to put them on this weekend! Oh Well. Invoice has the right part but what's in the box is wrong.

the same

the ALt riderbars are the same for F650 and F800 so they were the right bars. Not the easiest things to install but very stout when installed. I hope I never find out how good they work! They sure look good too.